


Crossing Paths

by EnchantressEmily



Category: Widdershins (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Canon Trans Character, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 18:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19707301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnchantressEmily/pseuds/EnchantressEmily
Summary: What if G. Knott & Son had happened to pass through Widdershins a few months earlier, while the Malform Busters were dealing with "that apothecary with the Swiftness malform"?





	Crossing Paths

Ben spoke the final word and felt the malform vanish. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief; given how hard the thing had been to catch, he had half-expected it to dart out of the desummoning circle before he was finished. 

Getting to his feet, he looked around. Wolfe, at least, was trying to clean up some of the chaos they had caused; O’Malley was just leaning against a shelf with his hands in his pockets. 

“What about ‘be careful, this place is full of fragile things’ didn’t you understand?” Ben demanded, glaring at him. 

O’Malley rolled his eyes. “’S not _my_ fault. Why don’t ye yell at whoever was daft enough t’ let a Swiftness buggerup loose in a ‘pothecary t’ start with?”

“There is no sense in laying blame now,” Wolfe said peaceably, picking up the shards of what had been a large glass bottle. “The breaking is done, so let us remedy what we can. Perhaps if we tidy this before the apothecary returns, she will not shout at us again.”

That was a strong incentive, Ben had to admit. As he bent to help Wolfe collect the glass, the front door of the shop opened and closed. All three of them turned to look.

A customer had come in – a stocky, dark-skinned young man in a neat black suit. He stared at them and at the broken glass on the floor, looking taken aback. “Um… is, uh, Ms. Swift here?”

“She has gone to fetch things to clean with,” Wolfe said. “She will return soon, I think.”

The young man nodded in thanks. He hovered near the door while they worked, casting occasional glances at them. “E-excuse me,” he said at last. “I don’t want to bother you, but would you mind t-telling me what happened?”

He sounded more or less local, Ben thought. This wasn’t exactly a good advertisement for their business, but it couldn’t be helped. “We’re a malform removal service,” he said. “Ms. Swift called us in, but there was… a little difficulty in catching the malform.”

The young man blinked. “B-but Eliza isn’t a wizard. How-?”

“We don’t ask how th’ buggerups get ‘ere,” O’Malley said, pushing some pieces of glass together with his foot. “We jus’ get paid fer gettin’ rid of ‘em.”

At that point Ms. Swift reappeared through a door at the back of the shop, her arms full of brooms and buckets. “Here,” she said, shoving the load at Ben. “I want all that glass swept up and the spilled medicines wiped off the floor and the shelves. It’s the least you can do after destroying half my stock.”

They had actually broken less than a quarter of the bottles on the shelves, Ben thought, but it didn’t seem wise to argue. “And our pay…?” he ventured. 

Ms. Swift snorted. “We’ll see.” She seemed about to continue, but the customer cleared his throat hesitantly, and she noticed him for the first time. Her whole demeanor changed. “ _Knotty?_ ” she exclaimed, breaking into a broad, gap-toothed grin. “Where did you spring from?”

The young man – Knotty? – grinned shyly back. “D-Dad and I are on our way to Leeds, and I p-persuaded him to stop here for the night,” he said. “It’s so good to see you, Eliza.”

Not a customer, but an old friend, Ben decided. It was nothing to do with them. He picked up one of the brooms and nudged Wolfe, who was watching the reunion with a pleased smile. “Let’s get on with it,” he murmured. “The sooner we start, the sooner we can get back to the office.”

Wolfe nodded and passed a bucket and rag to O’Malley, who made a face, but set about wiping up a puddle of something dark and sticky.

Ms. Swift, leading her friend toward the spiral staircase in the corner, paused to say, “Call me when you’re done, and we’ll talk about your fee. I’ll be taking the damages out of it, just so you know.”

Of course she was, Ben thought glumly. “I understand, ma’am.”

Vincent glanced back at the three men as he followed Swifty – no, _Eliza,_ he had to remember that – up the stairs. The blond one with the glasses still looked upset. “W-weren’t you a little hard on them, Eliza?” he asked.

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen them trying to catch the thing,” Eliza said, opening the door to her living quarters above the shop. “I swear they caused more damage than it did.”

That reminded Vincent of another question he had. “How did you get a m-malform in here, anyway?” he asked as they sat down at the table that took up most of the space in the tiny kitchen. Parsley emerged from under the stove and jumped into his lap, purring. “I th-thought it was just wizards that had problems with them.”

Eliza’s eyes gleamed. “I’ve got a theory about that. There’s this bounty hunter who has her office just around the corner, and her new assistant is a wizard. I think _he_ made the buggerup.”

Vincent felt his cheeks heating. “I wish you wouldn’t c-call them that,” he muttered.

Eliza smiled affectionately and gave his ponytail a gentle tug. “Not everyone’s as reluctant to swear as you are, Knotty,” she said. “So what have you been doing since you wrote last?”

They spent some time exchanging news of their lives, talking about the books Vincent had been reading and the latest theories Eliza had concocted. Mostly Vincent just enjoyed watching his friend. She was different from the Swifty he had grown up with, and not only the obvious differences of hairstyle and clothing. Swifty had always been a little awkward, uncomfortable in her skin; Eliza positively radiated self-assurance. She had finally become the person she was meant to be.

Vincent was delighted for her sake, but a little envious too. Would that happen to him if he ever got up the courage to tell Dad how he felt about the family trade? Or would he still be just Vincent, quiet, anxious, and prone to panicking?

Eliza saw the expression on his face. “What’s the matter, Knotty?” she asked, frowning.

Vincent blushed again and bent over the cat on his lap. “N-nothing. I just… wish I was as c-confident as you are. M-maybe if I were more like you – if I were s-stronger –“

“Hey.” Eliza reached over and made him look up at her. “Confidence isn’t everything. You know what your strength is, Knotty? It’s caring about people. You notice how they’re feeling and you want to help them. You even worried about those idiots downstairs. Now me, I’ve never been great with other people’s emotions; I just get impatient, unless it’s somebody like you that I already like. You’re this way with everybody.”

Vincent managed a wobbly grin. “Maybe that’s why I’m s-such a bad hangman,” he said. “Thanks, Eliza.”

“What else are friends for?” Eliza said, grinning back.

“Oi!” a voice called from downstairs. It sounded like the scruffy, dark-haired man from the malform-catching team. “Ye goin’ t’ come down an’ pay us, or what?” 

This was followed by a brief burst of muffled bickering.

Eliza rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “C’mon, Knotty. Let’s go see how bad it is.”

Vincent picked up Parsley, who had draped herself immovably across his knees, and followed.

The mess in the shop had been cleaned up – Vincent thought he saw a flicker of surprise in Eliza’s face – and the three men were waiting for them. The tall German had a firm grip on the dark-haired one’s shoulder.

Vincent sat on the bottom step while Eliza and the man with glasses wrangled over payment. In the end, after a glance at Vincent, she agreed to pay them at least a small part of the original fee. The man looked relieved and herded his colleagues out of the shop before she could change her mind.

As the door closed behind them, Eliza blew out her breath. “I hope I don’t have to deal with them again. Do you have time for a cup of tea, or do you need to get back?”

Vincent checked his watch. “Tea sounds good.”

Eliza rummaged about behind the counter, emerging with a tea kettle in hand. “One evening really isn’t a long enough visit,” she said over her shoulder. “Think you’ll have a job in Widdershins sometime soon?”

Vincent shuddered. “I h-hope not. I mean, I want to see you,” he added hastily. “B-but I’d rather not have that kind of job anywhere.”

Eliza sobered. “Yeah, I know. Maybe things will change and you won’t have to.”

Vincent didn’t answer. No matter how much he wanted it, he couldn’t see that happening anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> In this timeline the whole thing with Will plays out the same way, the only difference being that Knotty and Eliza have seen each other more recently.
> 
> I know that canonically Ben had to pay Eliza for the damage, but I think having Knotty there ("W-weren't you a little hard on them?") made her decide to give them a break.


End file.
